Bruises ~ Jiara // obx

24 - The Funeral

Sarah POV // a few months later

The irritating ring of my alarm pierced the silence as I slapped my hand on top of the small clock, burying my head back into the pillow. A few moments later I turned over, remembering the handsome man I had to wake up to everyday. But he wasn't there. My eyes trailed back to the clock to check I had the right time: 5am. Today's events suddenly caught up to me and I gasped. Pope's funeral.

Scrambling out of bed, I pulled on a hoodie quickly before rushing down the stairs and going to the one place I was sure he would be. Our new house was colossal and had a vast garden area, but John B had declared his favourite spot to be the small pond at the edge of the green overlooking the ocean. I sprinted out and sure enough, he was there. I needed to be strong for him today, this was going to be hard. My footsteps seemed to startle him as he turned around, wiping streams of tears away. My heart ached for him as I acknowledged how much pain he was really in. I didn't know Pope all that well, but he seemed like a really genuine, down to earth guy. And he didn't deserve what happened to him at all. John B collapsed in my arms as I embraced him tightly, and he sobbed for what felt like forever. I felt helpless, as if there was nothing I could do besides provide the best comfort possible and allow him to let it all out. Stroking his hair, I attempted to hush him yet sobs took over his entire body and he was shaking violently in my arms. I bit my lip to prevent from crying myself as I continued to shush him, rocking back and forth in the process.

"He was gonna go to college. His scholarship..." he spluttered, unable to control himself properly.

"I know, I know, shhh." I whispered, kissing his forehead softly. After a while, he slowly begun to calm down, before eventually he stopped.

"Are you good to go get ready now?" I asked softly as we stood up and I planted a kiss on his cheek. He nodded slowly, squeezing my hand and offering a weak smile. It killed me that this day was only going to get worse.

JJ POV

I gulped hard as I stood before the mirror. I felt as though I didn't quite recognise the boy stood before me, with his blonde mop of hair slicked back and actually relatively tidy for once, and his tight black suit matched with a tie that he most definitely did not tie alone. I hadn't let the wave of emotions hit me yet; I had simply kept on burying it down for the past few weeks building up to this day. Further and further. And today I was afraid it would all creep back and I would break.

"JJ sweetie?" The concern in the voice was crystal clear, and I caught the eyes of Kiara's mum staring at me in the mirror. Sympathy danced on her face as she eyed me almost as a proud mother, something that was a little strange given me and Kiara but at the same time comforting; I'd never really had that before. I pursed my lips into a small smile as she walked over and brushed my suit, before adjusting the tie ever so slightly and beaming with tears pooling her eyes.

"I'm so proud of you, all of you. Pope would've loved what you're all doing for him." She whispered, and I stiffened a little at the mention of him so early on. Come on JJ, hold it together.

"Yeah..." I managed to get out after a while, averting my gaze away and biting down hard on my bottom lip to stop it from trembling. Slowly, I felt her arms wrap around me in an embrace and I accepted it, letting a single tear trickle from my eye. A few moments later, she pulled away and wiped her own tears aside before shooting me a reassuring smile.

"Now let's go get breakfast."

Kiara POV

Everything felt strange as I plopped down into a chair at the dining table, a nauseous feeling settling in my stomach as I gazed at the stack of food before my eyes. I just didn't seem to have much of an appetite at all; I hadn't really for the past week or so. I hoped that this day would give me a chance to finish mourning and move on. To have a chance to be able to look back on Pope in a positive light, and not to spend eternity focusing on the tragic waste of the beautiful life he had yet to live. Pushing my thoughts aside for now, I watched as a door creaked open and JJ shuffled in behind my mum, his face bloodshot and puffy, enhancing the sapphire in his eyes. Our gaze locked for a second, and we both did our best to force a smile towards each other, despite knowing we were broken over this day. We all sat in silence for a little while, before my dad came in with sauces and a stack of pancakes that any other day, I would devour in minutes.

"Tuck in!" He announced, in a futile attempt to lighten the mood. But both me and JJ didn't move a muscle, we simply sat still, almost frozen in time. A few minutes passed before my parents exchanged glances, and my mum eyed me worriedly.

"Guys, I know this is hard for you but you need to eat something. Trust me you'll feel a lot better with some food in those bellies." She smiled, handing me some pancakes and JJ some bacon. I watched as JJ politely accepted, and despite it not really being in his best interest, tucking in. On the other hand, I continued to ignore the food in front of me. I couldn't eat; I know I would just throw it back up immediately.

"Kiara..." my dad begun but I felt myself standing up abruptly and storming out, slamming the door behind me before breaking out into a sprint. Hot tears spilled from my eyes as I ran and I blinked through them, pushing faster until my lungs were screaming for air and my legs were on fire. But I kept going. Faster and faster. All the emotions were rushing to the surface quicker than I could handle, and I just needed to get away. Minutes passed before I finally slowed to a stop and realised I had made it to the beach, before I collapsed onto the sand and felt my entire body become overcome with sobs.

"WHY!??" I screamed at the top of my lungs into the air, clamping my hand over my mouth after to stifle the sobs. Grasping my previously neatly done hair, I yanked it out and ran my hands through it until I felt free. I couldn't handle it. So I had run away from it. I knew that I had to just pull myself together and face it, but it was hard. So fucking hard. I guess what they say is right; money doesn't equal happiness. Friends and family are happiness.

"Kie?" A voice spoke quietly, almost too quiet to make out, but I knew who it was in an instant. Turning around, I noticed that JJ too, had worked himself up a little. But he was holding on much better than I was. I patted the sand beside me for him to come and sit, and he did, immediately wrapping his arms around me as we both gazed at the aqua waves scintillating in the morning sunlight. There was no need for talking, or even crying at this point. We had let it all out. Life was shit, and that was it.

"Kie?" JJ spoke up in a soft voice after a while, turning to face me and stroking my cheek gently.

"Yes JJ?" I replied in a croak, resting my hand on top of his.

"We're gonna be ok, right?" He asked, and the both of us begun to chuckle in response. I smiled as our noses brushed together, and I felt his warm breath which actually had a nice scent settle on my cheek.

"Yeah, we're gonna be ok J." I replied quietly, tracing my finger along his lip before closing the small gap between us. Despite everything, I knew that with each other, we could at least try to be ok.

General POV // The Bahamas

A large warehouse situated pretty much in the middle of nowhere was bustling with workers on a bright Tuesday morning, each individual getting on with their own duty. Most people didn't really make much conversation with each other, besides the friendly wave, nod, or quick 'hello'.

"Can you maybe speed up a little, we need these last boxes transported to the outerbanks ASAP," A tubby man ordered his pack of men, the majority of which were middle-aged and already going grey. But one man stood out of from the rest; he was young, fit and able.

"Hey John Doe, how you feeling today?" The tubby man stopped the younger one, taking a moment to examine his state. It had been a good few months since he had randomly wound up here, with little recollection of anything about himself or where he had come from.

"Good, sir." He replied bluntly, following his pack to do the only thing he really knew how to do. The tubby man rubbed his stubble and sighed, wondering if there was anything much more he could do to help the boy. But at the same time he didn't want to risk losing him; he was the best worker and seemed to be focused on work and only work. It was all he knew. The boy sighed as he assisted in heaving the boxes on board a private plate. Little did he know that inside those boxes was gold. The gold that he had supposedly died trying to obtain. And that his death was being mourned by thousands this very day, hundreds of miles away. He had no idea.